Hiring intentions of employers across the globe revealed mixed trends with less than half of the economies hoping to see stronger employment growth in the third quarter, the results of the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook survey showed Tuesday.

Employers in only 18 out of 44 countries surveyed by Manpower were more optimistic about hiring prospects in the third quarter versus the previous three months. Meanwhile, employers in another 18 countries reported weaker plans. No change in hiring intentions was reported in eight countries.

"We're seeing significant variation across global labor markets," ManpowerGroup Chairman & CEO Jonas Prising said.

"Employers in Europe plan modest yet varied hiring as uncertainty and unpredictability around trade wars and Brexit continues, while in the U.S. and some parts of the Asia Pacific region organizations are planning to hire at levels we haven't seen for many years."

In comparison with the same period last year, hiring intentions strengthened in 12 countries and territories, but weakened in 26 and were unchanged in six.

The strongest hiring sentiment was seen in Japan, Croatia, Taiwan, the U.S., Greece and Slovenia. On the other hand, Hungary, Argentina, Italy and Spain showed the weakest hiring prospects.

Australia and Brazil logged strongest hiring intentions in seven and five years, respectively.

Hungary was the only country among those surveyed where employers plan to reduce headcount in the third quarter.

The survey was conducted among 59,000 employers in 44 countries and territories.

In the U.S., the net employment outlook came in at seasonally adjusted +21 percent, reflecting the strongest hiring intentions in 13 years.

Employers in 13 industries logged double-digit hiring intentions, signaling continued strength in the labor market where open jobs outnumber unemployed U.S. workers.

In 25 out of 26 Europe, Middle East & Africa region countries, payroll gains were anticipated for the third quarter. Also, employers in all eight Asia Pacific countries and territories surveyed expect payroll growth.

In China, hiring sentiment was relatively stable compared to the previous quarter, but employers posted a slight annual decrease.

Despite cautious growth outlook, workforce gains were expected in all four major European economies. German employers reported slightly weaker hiring intentions compared to both the prior quarter and this time last year.

Meanwhile, French employers reported no change compared to preceding quarter but anticipated a mild hiring pace in three months to September.

Hiring intentions in the UK remained moderate compared to the previous quarter where those in the private sector were the weakest in seven years. The survey showed that public sector employers are twice as likely to be looking to hire in the next quarter as their private sector counterparts.

Meanwhile, Italian employers reported a cautious outlook.

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